The principle of the land use planning system is moving down the hierarchy towards more specific plans, so that national land use guidelines steer regional and local master plans, which, in turn, control local detailed plans.
© Raili Malinen
Local master plans and local detailed plans are drafted and approved in municipalities. Regional land use plans are drafted and approved by regional councils. Municipalities may also cooperate in drafting a local master plan.
The plan covering the leisure housing on the shore zone is called a detailed shore plan. Detailed shore plans can be drafted by landowners, although the handling and approval of the plans is the municipalities’ responsibility.
Development and monitoring of land use planning
The development of land use planning is the responsibility of the plan makers and the environmental administration (the Ministry of the Environment and the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment). The Finnish Environmental Institute carries out environmental research and produces national follow-up data on the state of the environment and planning.
The environmental administration has developed an information system for monitoring land use planning and a monitoring form for detailed master plans, with the aim of facilitating the collection and distribution of data.